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Over one-half of those with foreign background moved to Finland for family reasons

People move to Finland from abroad for various reasons. One reason triumphs over all others: family and love.

Of persons with foreign background living in Finland in 2014, the reason for moving had been family reasons for over one-half. Close on one-fifth had come to Finland for work and one in ten for studies. Being a refugee or seeking asylum was the reason for one in ten persons.

For women, family reasons were more common for moving to Finland than for men. For men, family reasons were also the most important ones but reasons related to work and studies were emphasised as well.

These data are the first results from the Survey on work and well-being among persons of foreign origin carried our in cooperation between Statistics Finland, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL).

The whole article can be found in Finnish on the thematic pages on immigrants and integration.

First survey of its kind in Finland

The Survey on work and well-being among persons of foreign origin is the first of its kind in Finland. In the survey, persons of foreign background are for the first time able to tell personally about their reasons for immigration. Previously, statistical data have been available only on the grounds on which the Finnish Immigration Service has granted residence permits to people arriving from outside EU and EFTA countries.

The survey studies the working life, education, health and well-being of persons of foreign background. Its results represent persons of foreign background aged between 15 and 64 permanently living in Finland in 2014. The survey was conducted between 2014 and 2015 as face-to-face interviews, and over 3,200 persons were interviewed. Interviews were conducted in 12 different languages. The methodological description of the survey (only in Finnish).

The survey was financed by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and the EU's Integration Fund. Articles on its results will be published on the websites of Statistics Finland and the National Institute for Health and Welfare in late 2015.

Persons with foreign background are confident and happy but also face challenges related to wellbeing

The results of the Survey on work and well-being among persons of foreign origin show that there are challenges related to wellbeing and security, but that many persons of foreign background are also doing well. They trust authority and service systems, as well as people, and feel happy and content.